Despite being one of South America's smallest countries, Ecuador packs in an extraordinary range of landscapes and ecosystems in a remarkably small area. Straddling the equator - the country takes its name from the Spanish word for it - Ecuador is home to four distinct regions: Andean highlands, Amazon rainforest, Pacific coast, and the Galapagos Islands, each just a short journey from the next.
In a single trip, students can stand in the shadow of Cotopaxi, one of the world's highest active volcanoes, explore the mist-covered biodiversity of the cloud forest, and venture into the Amazon basin in search of monkeys, caimans, and an extraordinary range of birdlife - all without the long distances between each. Traditional indigenous markets and wide Andean panoramas add a cultural and geographical richness that few countries can match in such a compact space.
For those extending their trip, the Galapagos Islands offer something entirely different again: giant tortoises, marine iguanas, and blue-footed boobies found nowhere else on Earth, on the same islands that inspired Darwin's theory of evolution. This is a school trip not to be missed.